Children’s Bible Clubs see exciting growth in India.

India (MNN)–The growth of children’s Bible clubs throughout India is cause for celebration.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India’s John DeVries says their strategy is to support the indigenous church ministry. “We have about 750 national Indian missions that we work with and we train their members to do a two-week Bible club program for children, then with a follow-up program, kind of an after school club program.”

Many clubs are held by our partners in places where living conditions are all but hopeless. Devries says they recently took some visitors to a village near Hyderabad to see the progress of one of the children’s Bible club ministries.

It was there that the team got a surprise. “The demand for the children’s Bible club and the ongoing after school club was so great, that the families of the village had decided to limit themselves to only one child per family. They were sort of ‘rationing’ themselves out because we didn’t have facilities, and the mission we partnered with didn’t have room for them.”

That’s a good problem to have, says DeVries–and one that’s being repeated wherever they have a Bible club program. However, that means more funds are needed to support the growing demand.

Through Mission India, teachers are trained in craft ideas, puppetry, games, Scripture storytelling techniques and class management. Teachers are given workbooks in their regional language, cassettes of original songs, teacher’s manuals, posters and name badges. Students receive workbooks and ID tags.